<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>cats and cats and cats by 10redplums</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27914815">cats and cats and cats</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/10redplums/pseuds/10redplums'>10redplums</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>planes campaign fic [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dungeons &amp; Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons &amp; Dragons - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bonding, Gen, discussed animal death, discussed consumption of animals typically kept as pets, downtime, mention of cat orgy, regional cuisine, thinly-veiled musicals</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:22:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,862</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27914815</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/10redplums/pseuds/10redplums</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"It’s- about cats. It’s a play about cats. Gary had mentioned wanting to go to the opera and maybe this was opera? Lyra had chosen the recreational activity last time."</p><p>please read the tags!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>planes campaign fic [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044054</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Banned Together Bingo 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>cats and cats and cats</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“Garfield, when can we stop at a town?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We’re a few days away from the next one! Don’t worry, you all can have some days out of this wagon.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next town is a small city populated mainly by catfolk and for once Garfield doesn’t stand out. He parks the wagon a little way out of town, hidden by glamour as usual. They stretch their legs and split up to go sightseeing. Garfield finds them an inn to stay at, for a change of scenery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The town is lovely. Sam and Mina stick to Garfield like a pair of ducklings and watch him as he does his usual song and dance of commerce, and they whisper to each other as they look around. Sam wonders how Sige and the others are doing. They’d said they’d never left Tunka and it rather showed; Gary’s grandmother had been rather cosmopolitan but Gary had still turned starry-eyed to everything they’d passed. Sam hopes they’re doing okay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They buy snacks and rest by a fountain in a park; Sam flicks a coin in and makes a wish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, look,” Mina says, tugging on their sleeve. She points out a poster and- Garfield waves them off and continues to sun himself- they meander over to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s- about cats. It’s a play about cats. Gary had mentioned wanting to go to the opera and maybe this was opera? Lyra had chosen the recreational activity last time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s tell Garfield?” Sam says, and Mina nods. They go over to him and tug him to the poster, one at each sleeve; he looks at it and reads a little about the advertised entertainment and he laughs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you two want to watch this?” he says. “I’ve seen it before; it’s fun.” They nod again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They go to the theater the next evening, the whole group of them. Sam’s procured tickets for them and passes them to the person at the door, and they file in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam and Mina claim the seats to either side of Garfield, and Sige takes the one beside Sam. Gary, Lyra, and Ethert sit, clumped together, behind them. The view is fairly nice. The lights go down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The music starts and from the backdrop one then another then another set of eyes until the stage seems full of them, and as the music swells the full moon shines above them and illuminates the scene.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The catfolk file out, dressed in a way that’s… odd, to Sam’s eye, in a way they can’t place but that makes Garfield chuckle. They watch them introduce themselves, in song, and dance across the stage. It’s all very graceful and impressive. Sam wonders if they can pull off the same moves, and watch more closely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dancers spread out through the audience area as the first song reaches its climax and Sige jumps as one comes very close, and Sam chuckles and leans their head on his arm. They return to the stage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the performance is… Something. Definitely something. Sam watches, enraptured, holding Sige’s hand; onstage the dancers perform amazing acrobatic feats one after the other. The songs are- eclectic. An upbeat number about a hot and cold person. A high-energy one where the dancer goes and gyrates with an audience member, and there’s a lot of flustered laughter and squeals at that one. Sam is no different, peeking through fingers pressed through their face and giggling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The whiplash from the changing moods is intense. Immediately after the suggestive one a ragged cat creeps across the stage as the ensemble sings about her fall from grace. Immediately after </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>there’s another upbeat one about the fattest, most distinguished cat. It goes on and on and on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The intermission comes. Gary chatters excitedly about the play, bouncing ideas off Lyra and Ethert, trying to figure out with them if the cats meant this or that when they sang. Mina goes to the bathroom. Garfield, the only one of them who knows what’s going on, goes to get more snacks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that was nice, wasn’t it?” Sam says, laughing and leaning on Sige’s shoulder. They feel him nod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Though… I’m not quite sure what’s going on?” Sam laughs some more and presses against him. “It seemed like they’ve just been introducing themselves?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe the plot gets going in the second half,” Sam says. He hums assent. “We can ask Garfield when he comes back. Oh, hope against a rock-” The man of the hour comes back, handing them the snacks they asked for. He waves a box at them, a gleam in his eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look what I got,” he says. “Cat tongues!” Sam sits up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lengua de gato.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sige gasps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cat-” He looks at Garfield, at the stage, at the audience. Which consists mostly of catfolk. “Tongues???”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes! They’re quite good,” Garfield says. He takes his seat and wrestles with the seal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just- just because </span>
  <em>
    <span>they’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> not sapient doesn’t mean you can just- just kill them for their tongues!” Garfield blinks at him. Sam, between them, covers their mouth with one hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sige-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Garfield!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sige, they’re cookies,” Garfield says, finally getting the box open. Inside are thin, pale golden biscuits. He gets one and offers it to Sige, who startles and takes it. Sam watches him try it and sees his expression morph from interest to delight, and they grin. They take one, too, when Garfield offers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, and- huh. Sam’s tastes of oranges. They’d been thin and crunchy all the way through, back home, and tasted of butter. They close their eyes. This is new.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s delicious!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We call them lady fingers back home,” Mina says, dropping back into her seat. Sige looks at her and nods, and smiles at Garfield.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re delicious, Mister Garfield,” he says again, smiling. Garfield nods and offers Mina one too, which she takes. “I’m glad you don’t actually kill cats to eat their tongues.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garfield nods, too. “I don’t know if they do that here,” he says, “but we don’t do that, where I come from.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We eat the rest of it, too,” Sam says, licking the crumbs off their fingers. They look up at the aghast expressions of the sheltered kids from Tunka. “What? Meat’s meat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sam,” Sige says, looking faintly green, taking their hand. “Do- you mean cats?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam blinks up at him. “Yes? Some places dogs too. It’s not like a delicacy in my hometown or anything. It is what it is. We- uh, we don’t breed them for it, if it helps.” Sam is spared further opening their mouth by the one sexy cat man’s loud return to the stage, greeting the audience. He shakes his hips and swings the false tail, and asks how everyone’s doing. If everyone’s comfortable. He reassures them they’ll see more of his antics in just a few minutes, so sit tight. Sam hums, contemplative.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Garfield,” they say, and he hums at them. “There’s something about the dancers...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you noticed,” he says, purring. “They’re wearing body suits.” Sam blinks at him. “Well, you wouldn’t expect them to dance naked, would you?” Sam stares at him and blinks harder, and leans in. They’re all looking at him, awaiting explanation, and he laughs and waves a hand. “They’re cats.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, duh?” Gary says, and Garfield shakes his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The actors are catfolk,” he says. “But the characters are cats. Oh, I should have gotten a playbill. Would any of you be interested, after?” they all nod at him, and he laughs again. “The characters are cats. They’re… competing, I suppose? For the honor of ascension. Don’t worry about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is a death cult of cats???” Mina says, looking at him, then to the stage, then to him again. Garfield laughs again, and then the lights go down and the second half starts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The whiplash continues, upbeat song after sad song after dark song, but this time the villain hinted at in the first half makes an appearance and does his nefarious deeds. Sige cries out softly in surprise and clutches at Sam’s arm. There’s another song about the villain’s nefarious deeds. Someone sprinkles something on the cats and- oh- </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam does not know where to put their face. Sige has just hidden himself in them completely and they put an arm around him and pat him on the back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh dear,” Garfield says quietly. “This wasn’t in the version I saw before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No shit?” Sam says, grinning, still consoling Sige. Mina is peeking through splayed fingers. They can hear Gary laughing. Onstage, the performers- belt their hearts out. That’s all Sam is going to say. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the orgy ends eventually, as orgies do. The brash, sexy cat has a tender side he’d mostly only shown earlier around the patriarch, but he’s nothing but praise as he introduces the sorcerer cat. Sam thinks they saw that one earlier, meek and unassuming. No such modesty now; He holds a pose as he glitters and flashes down from the heavens and lights up the night. The other cats are in awe. The brash cat fluffs out in pride. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The villain cat’s nefarious deed is thwarted and the patriarch is returned, just in time to choose one of them. The ragged cat has an aria about the bygone days of her glory and happiness, and as she falters it’s picked up by another of the younger cats. She regains confidence enough to belt out the rest. Sam can hear Sige crying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The patriarch chooses her for ascension, of course. Garfield sighs, satisfied, as she rises. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Ethert says, arms behind his head, looking at merchandise as Garfield gets a playbill. Gary has dragged Mina over to line up for pictures with the cast. Sige has gone to the bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I liked it,” Lyra says, looking around. Ethert snorts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You would,” he says. She laughs softly and shoves him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do apologize for the surprise, Sam,” Garfield says, and Sam turns from one of the stuffed cat dolls to him and blinks again. “That, uh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>scene</span>
  </em>
  <span>, wasn’t in the version I’d seen. I suppose they must have added it later. It must have been a nasty surprise.” Sam smiles at him and waves a hand. He passes them the playbill and they flip through it slowly, him leading them out to wait for the others. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” they say. “Uh. I hope the. You know. Thing about regional dishes. Uh.” Sam is the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best</span>
  </em>
  <span> at words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s quite alright,” he says. “Not my place to say. You came from a very… Resourceful place?” Sam snorts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s one way of putting it, I guess,” they say, and then sigh. “Thanks for taking us to see this. It was… nice. It was nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad you think so. It was my pleasure,” he adds, laughing. Sige comes back, grinning, and Sam waves the playbill at him. He hurries back to them. A little away, Gary keeps Mina in line for pictures as she fidgets and glances from performer to performer. Sam flips through the lyrics with Sige.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All in all, it was a nice night.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Regional differences: Sam: butter cookies, lengua de gato, crispy all the way; Garfield: lavender or orange, langue du chat, soft middle and crispy on the outside; Mina: ladyfingers, dipped in chocolate</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>